Churchyard plugs into Grid support to boost nature access

An out-of-the-ordinary churchyard in Cornwall is being developed as a wildlife haven and an interactive event space with support from our Community Matters Fund.

We’re helping the Camborne Cluster of Churches with a nature-based project at St John the Evangelist Church in Treslothan, on the outskirts of Troon village.

The grade-II listed church, known as the Church in the Woods, is set in temperate Atlantic rainforest and is looking to develop its green space.

Nanette Newton-Hinge, project manager for Camborne Cluster of Churches in the Diocese of Truro, said: “Our project will remove invasive species from the space and provide homes and protection for wildlife and eventually encourage greater biodiversity in the churchyard. This will include bat and bird boxes, insect hotels and hedgehog homes.

“Funding has also provided outdoor play equipment to allow toddler and after-school clubs to take place, and some kitchen equipment to allow a lunch club to be established.

“This grant allowed us to purchase equipment that we would not have been able to afford, so a big thank you to National Grid for the Community Matters Fund. It makes a big difference to the events and support we can offer our community, and the wildlife and nature within the churchyard.”

Andlyn White, our Social Impact Partner, said: “It’s gratifying to see how the community will be enriched by the use of the churchyard and how this project is encouraging people to promote and protect nature.”

The Community Matters Fund provides individual grants of up to £5,000 for charities and community groups and over the past year has supported initiatives helping people overcome barriers to finding work and tackling fuel poverty.

Since launching in 2021, the fund has awarded more than £12 million to 2,200 grassroots organisations, benefiting more than one million people across the South West, the Midlands and South Wales.